Lisa Sandberg: The public school curriculum culture war

Few things inflame the culture wars as much as who controls the public school curriculum. The fight is rearing its head again in Texas, as social conservatives draw their guns on a school curriculum provision, obscure until now, tucked into House Bill 1.

Conservatives say several lawmakers, including a Republican (Sen. Florence Shapiro), are trying to usurp the power of the State Board of Education, an elected body controlled by conservatives, and hand it to appointed (and liberal) educators.

How would they do so?

By creating teams of college professors and public school teachers to evaluate and recommend curriculum standards.

Conservative activist Peyton Wolcott calls it “a power grab” by bureaucrats “to seize what little power the elected State Board of Education still has.”

State School Board member David Bradley said the offending language in question would thwart everything (conservatives) have worked for. “Only liberal educrats would be allowed to set the (curriculum) directing textbook criteria and selection, with no voter input, testimony or recourse.”

Shapiro’s office says Article 5 of the tax bill would leave the state board with all the power it had before (and that includes having the final word on the curriculum for Texas public schools). But the provision would establish committees made up of professors and public school teachers who would weigh in on redesigning curriculum standards.

Shapiro says the amendment is designed to raise standards, not take power away from an elected body. Someone from her office even cited language in the bill that reads: “Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the State Board of Education retains the board’s authority of the required curriculum. . .”

That doesn’t satisfy Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum who said: “This makes our State Board of Education almost without a job to do. What value is there in meeting . . . to sing KUMBAYA?”

And so for another day, social conservatives took to the blogs. “The Legislators cannot have it both ways,” one woman wrote. “Either the elected Texas State Board of Education has the authority over the P-12 curriculum, or the unelected (appointed) Texas Commissioner of Education has the authority over the P-12 curriculum. Riding the fence on this issue will only result in total confusion down the line.”

Liberal advocates said the amendment was good news for elevating academic standards. “Getting real academic experts to provide advice and recommendations seems a lot more worthwhile than getting politicians on the state board trying to make their personal beliefs what students are supposed to learn,” said Dan Quinn, spokesman for the Texas Freedom Network, a group which monitors the religious far right.